


Ralph's Death

by thomasjeffersonsmacaroni



Category: Lord of the Flies
Genre: Don't expect this to be good bc this is literally my fantasy for my smols, Gen, Jack is sorta nice?????, Literally cannot stress that enough, Post-Canon, Ralph is dying of old age, Very optimistic, WAY post canon, Whoa shocker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:30:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni/pseuds/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni
Summary: Ralph is almost ninety-three, and he lies in bed, ready to die. But before he can, he needs a certain two people to forgive him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm reposting this, along with another fanfic called Insomniacs, from my ff.net account, thequeenmaker (I'm planning to repost my fanfics and then delete my account). So if you see it there, don't freak out :)

Ralph lay in bed, his friends and family around him, and wondered about why people died.

Had they simply overstayed their welcome? Why did they grow weak, their eyesight lost, tears forming in their loved ones' eyes? Was it for a greater purpose? Or was there truly no reason? His friend Piggy would say that life was scientific and that there was no greater purpose, but Piggy was dead, and Ralph was about to join him.

If anyone, _Ralph_ had overstayed his welcome. He was ninety-two and nearing ninety-three. His wife Mary was only a couple of years younger than that, and their children had children of their own, who had children of their own, one of whom had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Surely the presence of great-great grandchildren was a sign that one needed to die.

 _Don't think like that,_ he told himself. _You need to die happy. You have no reason to grieve. Not now._

It was true. He had married the best woman in the world, the niece of the officer who had rescued them, he had two beautiful children, and lots of friends looked at him now with smiles on their faces. But there were two more who should have been among them, one with long black hair and bright eyes, and a fat one with thick glasses and "ass-mar".

Simon, his son, held his left hand with tears in his blue eyes. He looked like the spitting image of Ralph in his youth, complete with the blonde hair with gray streaks in it and the fairness that probably made many girls look his way. "It's okay, Dad," he said. "You can let go now. We'll always remember you."

"You were the best dad in the whole world," Ralph's daughter, Pigma, added. Pigma looked more like her mother, with curly, auburn hair that she kept tied back and gentle, brown eyes. "We'll always love you."

Suddenly, Ralph thought about the story of Pigma's name. Mary, his wife, hadn't protested when Ralph proposed the name "Simon" for their son, in honor of the friend that had died out of fear. However, she was shocked at the name "Pigma", mainly because it wasn't even a name. "Bethany would be good. Or Alice. But for heavens' sake, not Pigma!" She couldn't have known, couldn't have possibly known, that if Ralph had asked the fat boy his true name, he would have named his daughter differently.

That night, he had told her the story of the island, emphasizing the intellectual, practical Piggy as a reference for why he chose Pigma for his daughter, and not Bethany or Alice. By the end of it, he was in tears, and he loved her for the fact that she only hugged him, murmured that their daughter would be wise and loyal, and went off to fill out the birth certificates for Pigma Williams. Later, when Pigma Williams came home crying about being called a pig at school, Ralph had told her the same story, once again emphasizing his friend Piggy. Pigma was silent by the end, and then she nodded and said that she would bear the name with pride. Simon had never known the story, not from Ralph, at least.

"I love you, Grandpa!" one of Ralph's grandchildren squealed. Ralph smiled in spite of himself and mustered up the strength to pat the child – Harry – on the head.

"I love you too, Harry boy."

A tall figure with blue eyes stepped forward. Although his hair was as gray as Ralph's, it was easy to visualize him with red hair, especially since his face still held that familiar sternness. His face broke into a smile. "Hullo, Ralph," Jack Merridew said. "You'll always be a dear friend to me."

When Ralph Williams had graduated from secondary school, he had entered medical school to become a doctor. He was a good doctor, and he earned a steady stream of money for eight years before entering the military. One of the men in his barracks was named Jack Merridew, and Ralph knew instantly who he was, seeing him as a little boy with a painted face, long hair, and a spear. The two of them had met for a cup of tea and a chat as soon as they recognized each other. Jack had apologized a thousand times, and Ralph had forgiven him a thousand and one, for he had forgiven him as soon as he realized that the beast was inside of them, and that Jack was mainly acting out of fear. During the last apology, Jack had said, "I'm surprised you aren't working with children, as a teacher or something. You were a good chief back on the island."

To that, Ralph had said that it wasn't him who should be a teacher, it should be Simon because he was kind or Piggy because he was smart. But Jack had immediately said, "They're on your shoulder, aren't they? Guiding you? Don't you ask yourself, 'What would Simon do? What would Piggy do?'" Ralph did, admittedly, so as soon as the war was over, he applied to be a teacher and was accepted. Although it paid less, and he had had an argument or two with Mary about it, Ralph found himself significantly happier. Ever since then, the two men had buried the hatchet of the island and became close friends, frequently calling each other on the telephone.

 _What would Simon and Piggy do now? What did they do, facing death? Oh God, I can't even remember._ Ralph had tracked down Simon Harrington and saved a picture of him from school to look at, so he didn't forget his friend's face, but he couldn't track down Piggy. Over eighty years had passed, and Piggy's face had almost faded from Ralph's mind.

Pigma gave Ralph's hand another squeeze. "Do you need anything, Dad? Pain medication, food, water, anything?"

Ralph shook his head. "No, but thank you, dear. You've been very kind to me."

"It's you who's been kind to us. All of us."

For the first time, Ralph truly looked out at the faces in front of him. Percival Wemys Madison, now living in another house since his childhood, was there, as were the twins, Sam and Eric. Other friends, from the island and from his life, were there, and family, too, most of them younger than him. All of these people who love me, and none of them know what I did. I never apologized, never got his forgiveness. Ralph felt a new weakness in his body, and knew that he must be close to death, and that he would die without having apologized to the boy who was the wisest of them all.

"Ralph."

"Who said that?" Ralph whispered weakly, looking around.

And then he saw him. Even though he had died bloody, and his body was by now rotted in the ocean, Simon appeared as Ralph had known him, with a shock of black hair to his chin and bright eyes that seemed to hold all the knowledge in the world.

"Simon?" Ralph asked, so quietly that the other Simon, his son, didn't respond. "Oh, Simon, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry." Tears formed in Ralph's eyes.

"There's nothing to forgive. The beast was inside of us. I tried to tell you, it's the beast causing the fear. The beast inside of us. There was no beast outside."

"I know. But nothing could ever excuse our actions. No fear, no hate, no anger."

"But it's not your fault," Simon insisted. "You couldn't have known it was me. Anyway, you have my forgiveness. You're the best friend I ever had."

Ralph smiled, suddenly a boy again, a boy who couldn't have known his fate. "Thank you." And then, like a boy, "Does it hurt? Dying?"

"It hurts at first," Simon said, "but then it doesn't. Don't worry."

"And is…Piggy here?"

"I am," Piggy said. Piggy, too, died with blood on his body and his specs missing, but this Piggy, like Simon, was just like Ralph remembered him. Even the conch was near him, to his left. He took his specs off to clean them, another Piggy-like action, before he faced Simon for the first time.

"Piggy, everything is my fault. I know-"

"No, it's not. 'Twas Roger who killed me, and it's all because of Jack."

"Jack is better now," Ralph insisted. "He's reformed."

"I'm sure he has. It was all because of fear, after all," Piggy agreed.

"Will you come with us?" Simon asked. "It's loads of fun, you can talk to other people who died and my Grandpa is up there and-"

"I need to say goodbye to my family first," Ralph said. "And…I'm scared." _Like a child,_ he berated himself. _Still a child inside, even though you're almost ninety-three._

"It doesn't hurt at the end," Piggy said. "It hurt at first, but only for a heartbeat. Don't you worry, Ralph."

Simon nodded in agreement. "Come on."

Ralph opened his eyes wider, and the images of his two friends who should have had more time faded. "Good-bye," he said to his family. "I won't forget you, and I hope you won't forget me."

"We never will," his granddaughter, Ella, said. "You would read to me when I was little and hug me after my nightmares. I'll always remember how you comforted me."

More people said the good things that Ralph did to them: let him stay at his house when they were kicked out, comforted them after their boyfriends broke up with them, looked after their children. "You warmed our hearts and left footprints all over them," he said. "We won't forget you."

Ralph smiled and closed his eyes for the last time. A weak sigh escaped him. Simon reached his hand out, and Ralph took it.

And then he was not an old man, or a young one, or even a boy, but just Ralph Williams, in between two friends with whom he should have spent more time, all of his business on earth settled, and, at last, ready to die.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
